SYNOPSIS
In this unusual, poetic docudrama, Turkish actress Ayca Damgaci plays herself to explore her long-distance, multicultural love affair with Kurdish actor Hama Ali Khan. After meeting on a movie set in western Turkey, where they fall in love, the two return to their homes—plying one another with heartfelt videos and passionate letters in English, their only shared language. It is from her paeans that the film takes its name, as she compares him to people and things that move her (“You is my Marlon and Brando…you is the F-16 in the news…you is the deep brown valley I lie in”). They endure their separation for 18 months, but when the United States prepares to invade Baghdad, Damgaci becomes increasingly frustrated by the cultural and geographic barriers between them. Though frightened by the imminent bombing of Iraq, Damgaci decides to undertake the harrowing journey to be with her Kurdish lover, moving from border crossing to border crossing—swimming against the tide of refugees fleeing the war.
SELECTED FESTIVALS AND AWARDS
- Tribeca Film Festival, USA (2008): Best New Narrative Filmmaker Award (Hüseyin Karabey)
- Istanbul Film Festival, Turkey (2008): Best Actress Award (Ayca Damgaci)
- Jerusalem Film Festival, Israel (2008): FIPRESCI Award
- Sarajevo Film Festival, Bosnia and Herzegovina (2008): Best Actress Award (Ayca Damgaci)
- Tokyo International Film Festival, Japan (2008): Best Asian-Middle Eastern Award
- Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, Turkey (2008): Best Supporting Actor (Volga Sorgu)
- Rotterdam Film Festival, the Netherlands (2008)
Director HUSEYIN KARABEY
 Hüseyin Karabey was born in Istanbul in 1970. He studied at the
Marmara University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Cinema & TV Department.
His previous works, Boran, Silent Death, and A Breath with Pina Bausch
(screened at the 2006 Boston Turkish Film Festival) were recipient of
numerous awards and were screened in many international film festivals.
My Marlon and Brando is Karabey's first feature film.
Selected Filmography:
- Gitmek / My Marlon and Brando (2008)
- Ölümü Ektim Randevu Yerinde / I Cheated Death at the Meeting Point (short, 2006)
- Pina Bausch'la Bir Nefes / A Breath with Pina Bausch (2004)
- Sessiz Ölüm / Silent Death (docu-drama, 2001)
- Boran (short, 1999)
- Sokaklar ve Kayiplari / Streets and their Loss (doc., 1998)
- Etrus Kampi / Etruch Camp (doc., 1996)
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